New £125m Gilbert Bain Hospital set to include 100 residential units

The current Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.

A new £125m hospital could be built within five years.

NHS Shetland agreed today (Tuesday) for the Gilbert Bain Hospital replacement proposals to be sent for financial approval early next year.

Board chairman Gary Robinson said there had been a “tremendous effort” to reach this stage and thanked everyone involved.

“I think most of us thought when the pandemic hit that this work would be severely impacted,” he said. 

“But the fact it’s been able to carry on and even managed to get ahead of the schedule we expected really is a tribute to you and your team.”

Calls for a new hospital have been growing ever since an audit report in 2019 revealed the current building was “not fit for purpose”. 

Director of nursing and acute services Kathleen Carolan said this week’s approval would mark the first phase in a project estimated to take five to seven years.

A report presented to the board identified total costs of around £125m.

The latest plans also include provision for housing for up to 100 staff, carbon net zero designs, a helipad and contingency costs of up to 15 per cent.